Weaving To Woo - Three Pocket Valentine Holder
By Benjamin Krudwig
As a kid, I remember having a hanging fabric letter holder on our door for every season. At Valentine's Day we would put all of our cards and Valentines in the pockets until they were absolutely bursting with love. This tradition can be used year round for everyday mail, and then when the seasons hit, you have a place to keep your cards. This is a no-sew project that can be warped and woven in just a couple of days.
Project Specs
Weave structure: plain weave
Total warp length: 2 yards (includes take-up and loom waste)
Number of warp ends: 80 (40 of each color)
Width in reed: 10"
EPI: 8
What You'll Need
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two colors of worsted weight yarn - I used the new Berroco Modern Cotton in Gooseberry (1641) and Bluffs (1600)
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½” dowel, about 11” long
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10” Cricket Loom
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8 dent reed
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tapestry needle
Directions
Warping and Weaving
Warp your loom in 4-end stripes, alternating colors along the whole width of the loom.
Weave approximately 2”, alternating colors every 4 picks. Hemstitch—doing it now is easier than waiting until the fabric is off the loom.
Weave the length of your warp, alternating four picks of each color. Leave about 12" of waste yarn in the back to braid and then use as the hanger of the letter holder. I didn't capture the yarn along the sides since I knew I would be crocheting an edging afterwards that would cover the selvedge edge.
Before taking the fabric off the loom, insert the dowel into an open shed. Weave a few more picks.
Hemstitch around the dowel—this adds support to the project when hanging it up.
Take the project off of the loom. At the top of the weaving, divide the warp in two and braid each section, then tie the top together to act as a hanger. (Initially I tied the top braids together, but found it was too bulky of a knot, so I took a scrap piece of pink yarn and tied them together.)
- Divide the bottom into five sections and braid each section. Variations would be to fringe twist the ends or to do knotted fringe.
Assembly
Lay the fabric flat on a work surface. Pleat your fabric to create three pockets of roughly equal size, making sure the openings face "up" or towards the dowel hanger.
Pin the sides together or use removable stitch markers to keep the layers flat and together.
Crochet a scallop edge along each side of the pockets, making sure that you are going through all three layers of fabric at once. I thought the pink would make a nice border, but you can use any color you fancy.
Join the yarn to the end of the fabric with a slip stitch.
Crocheted Scallop Eding
Scallop edging is a combination stitch of five double crochet stitches in one space tacked down on either side by a slip stitch. Video instructions for a scallop edge can be found here.
*About 6 picks along the side, yarn over and insert your hook.
Yarn over and pull a loop through the hole.
Yarn over, pull through two loops on the hook.
Yarn over, pull through the last two loops on the hook.
- Repeat from * four more times in the same space.
- Insert your hook 6 picks away from the space and slip stitch to finish the Scallop Stitch.
